It’s a grim reality that every firefighter — and every firefighter’s family — must live with: that the next call, no matter how routine, could be the last.

For the borough of Wallington, that truth was driven painfully home last week, when Gregory “Barney” Barnas — a dedicated, well-respected longtime fireman — died after falling off the roof of a burning restaurant.

“This has been the darkest week in our borough, and I don’t think any of us will ever forget it,” said Wallington Fire Commissioner Mark Tomko, who had served in the borough’s volunteer Fire Department with Barnas since both were teenagers. But, he said, “On this dark day, we all band together as one family.”

An estimated 4,000 to 5,000 firefighters from as far as Baltimore filled this tiny, heart-shaped town Friday to pay their final respects to Barnas, a testament both to him and to the strong bonds that connect all firefighters.

As a volunteer firefighter in Wallington for 42 years, a paid fireman in Jersey City for 29, and a member of the fire department in Waymart, Pa., where his family has a vacation home, Barnas has deep roots in the local fire community. He was remembered Friday as a friend, a leader and a teacher, a humble man who rarely spoke of his accomplishments or the many acts of heroism that marked his long career as a firefighter.

“Barney was a giant. He was a role model,” said Jersey City Deputy Fire Chief Michael Terpak.

Barnas, 57, was venting the roof of the Akasaka Japanese restaurant on Paterson Avenue early Feb. 28 when he fell from the one-story building. Investigators have not released information on the cause of death or what caused him to fall.

Barnas was honored Friday with a mile-long procession through the streets of Wallington, a funeral Mass at the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, where he and his wife, Patricia, married in 1986, and a final alarm service at the firehouse of Fire Company 1, to which Barnas belonged.

Despite a sharp chill in the air, uniformed firefighters stood shoulder to shoulder outside the church Friday morning, lining both sides of Paterson Avenue in rows that stretched more than a block away to Locust Avenue. Several residents also gathered, awaiting the procession bearing Barnas’ flag-draped casket from Warner-Wozniak Funeral Home to the church.

As the procession neared, the crowd fell silent and firefighters snapped to attention. Women dabbed their eyes with tissues. The church’s bell began to toll, adding to the solemnity of the proceedings.

Firefighters raised white-gloved hands in salute.

Inside the church, mourners filled the lower pews and a balcony. Barnas’ wife, Patricia, and their sons, Kevin and John, both Wallington firefighters who were on the scene at the fire that took their father’s life, sat in a front pew, betraying little emotion during the somber service.

The Rev. Gerard Sudol, who has known Barnas since childhood and presided at his wedding, gave the homily.

Too often, said Sudol, he looked for his heroes in high places — the public figures, the boldface names in the newspaper.

“It’s taken me a long time to learn that they’ve been quietly walking and living and working and loving right beside us the whole time,” Sudol said. “And Greg Barnas has been one of them.”

Mourners remained largely dry-eyed during the religious service, holding their emotions tightly in check. But at the end of the service, as drummers struck up a beat to accompany bagpipers on “Amazing Grace,” something broke, with men and women shielding their faces as they wiped away tears.

After the funeral, mourners poured out of the church as Barnas’ casket was carried out. Family and friends gathered on the church steps, while Wallington and Jersey City firefighters lined the street for a final salute to their fallen brother.

The crowd was silent as the casket, carried in a red truck emblazoned with his name, headed toward the Fire Company 1 firehouse, preceded by a procession of bagpipers and drummers and followed by mourners.

At the firehouse, two state police helicopters flew overhead as thousands of firefighters lined up to receive the funeral party arriving from the church. As the procession approached, they stood at attention, some wiping away tears.

Barnas was honored with final alarms called out by the Jersey City and Wallington fire departments and a three-volley salute.

Tomko — who struggled to hold back tears as he spoke — paid tribute to his longtime friend’s 42 years of dedicated service to the borough of Wallington.

“Well done, good and faithful servant,” said Tomko. “Your job on Earth is ended. May you join the angels in heaven.”